NEW DELHI, 17 December 2005 — A bomb threat caused the evacuation of the Indian Parliament yesterday after both the houses were adjourned. But the all-clear was given when sniffer dogs failed to find any explosives in the complex.
About an hour after the alarm was raised, Home Minister Shivraj Patil said “the officers who are in charge of security have checked the building and they have told me there is nothing to worry about.”
He called the evacuation of Parliament, which suffered a suicide attack four years ago, “a precautionary measure.” Dogs and police bomb squads were used to search the building.
The United States Embassy in New Delhi tipped off Indian intelligence after the US Consulate in Madras received the threat by e-mail. The e-mail called “Inshallah” originated from Tirunelveli in southern Tamil Nadu and passed through the Sify gateway in Madras. A crack team of investigators is trying to trace the sender. A spokesman for the US Embassy would not directly comment on the events, but said: “We have excellent cooperation with the government of India and on a regular basis share information with them.”
Patil said the government would review security measures in and around the Parliament. Initial reports of what prompted the alert differed widely — a police officer at the scene, Dev Dutt, said Parliament staff received an anonymous phone call warning of a bomb in the building, and staffers said they had heard reports of unidentified bags found on the premises. The bomb scare revived memories of the December 2001 suicide attack on Parliament that left 14 people dead.
After the alert was issued yesterday, lawmakers, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and their staffs were asked to leave the building.
Witnesses said people were seen running from Parliament, and soldiers patrolled the grounds around the circular structure. Sirens were also heard blaring near Parliament.
“I was working on my computer when people started running, saying there was a bomb in the building,” said Asif Mohammad, a computer programmer in Parliament’s upper house. “All the (lawmakers) and staff were asked to evacuate by the security staff.”
He had heard an unclaimed bag had been found at one of the building’s gates.
Sources said that there was a security lapse at Gate 1 or 4 following which the baggage “bomb” came inside the premises.
The question hour was on in the Lok Sabha when Speaker Somnath Chatterjee suddenly adjourned the house without giving any reason at 11:45 a.m. Even as the speaker left the house, the members asked each other what was the reason for the adjournment.
— With input from agencies
